Countdown to crawling

This weekend, I noticed that Josephine has slightly rough patches on her otherwise super soft, super fat knees. Michael also pointed out that she likes to roll to her tummy, and then push herself up onto her hands and knees for brief periods. Both the knee calluses and the crawler's pose point to imminent crawling. It seemed liked Madeleine crawled within a week or two of mastering these skills. Michael and I wouldn't mind delaying this next big step for a few extra weeks, but we'll see what Josephine has in mind.

Both girls attended Boo at the Zoo this weekend which we braved with Nana despite freezing temperatures and 50 mile per hour winds. Only forty eight hours later, it's hard to remember what we were thinking - I guess we were just glad the pouring rains had ceased. In any case, we all had a good time. Madeleine was a 'pink ballerina' though she begrudgingly topped her fancy satin leotard and pouffy tutu with a pink sweatshirt and pink wool cape. Josephine was somewhat more appropriately dressed as a bear - appropriate in terms of warmth and because J's preferred sounds these days is the growl. Madeleine was thrilled to be there - at one point she ran back to hug Nana's leg and shout 'I LOVE BOO AT THE ZOO!' and she was completely on board with tracking down the booth giving away black licorice. She's our girl!

Yesterday, the girls and I stayed home in the morning which was a welcome break in activity. I worked on unpacking and packing up out-of-season and outgrown clothes for all of us, and M & J played. Madeleine wore her new ballet outfit from her cousin Adrianne, and we suited Josephine up in her own tutu so Madeleine could teach ballet class. Madeleine does a great job entertaining Josephine, but her standards as a ballet teacher were a bit high - Josephine's not quite ready for the high speed kicks and turns that Madeleine was demanding.